The year was 1924. Calvin Coolidge won the presidential election. Gershwin premiered Rhapsody in Blue in February. The Immigration Act capped arrivals from Southern and Eastern Europe. Prohibition was in its fifth year. About 2.8 million babies were born — and for the first time in at least twenty years, the most popular boys' name was neither John nor William. Robert had finally edged ahead.
Here's what the SSA data shows for 1924.
Top 15 Boy Names, 1924
| Rank | Name | 1924 babies | 2024 rank | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robert | 60,799 | #90 | Peaked in the 1920s–40s; slow decline, still on the board |
| 2 | John | 59,052 | #21 | Down from #1 but still inside the top 25 a century later |
| 3 | William | 53,506 | #10 | Back in the top 10 — the strongest performer from the 1924 list |
| 4 | James | 52,941 | #5 | Top 5 in 2024 — nearly identical position a century apart |
| 5 | Charles | 30,460 | #51 | Vintage revival underway |
| 6 | George | 27,374 | #124 | Slowly recovering — royal and vintage associations help |
| 7 | Joseph | 25,421 | #32 | Rock-steady across 100 years |
| 8 | Richard | 21,244 | #232 | Peaked mid-century; declining without revival |
| 9 | Edward | 21,126 | #228 | Slow decline; revival hasn't arrived |
| 10 | Donald | 17,929 | #672 | Peaked in the 1930s–40s; an unusually large drop |
| 11 | Thomas | 16,555 | #39 | Steady |
| 12 | Frank | 16,044 | #468 | A quiet vintage revival is just beginning |
| 13 | Harold | 14,149 | #988 | Near-extinct; not returning |
| 14 | Paul | 13,339 | #264 | Holding at mid-chart; quiet resilience |
| 15 | Raymond | 12,872 | #379 | Staging a small revival — just starting to stir |
Top 15 Girl Names, 1924
| Rank | Name | 1924 babies | 2024 rank | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mary | 73,534 | #132 | One in every twelve girls born in 1924; slowly declining since 1947 |
| 2 | Dorothy | 39,996 | #431 | Not yet back, but parents are reconsidering it |
| 3 | Helen | 31,194 | #424 | Same — the very beginning of a slow revival |
| 4 | Betty | 30,600 | #1,008 | Peaked in the 1930s; effectively out of use |
| 5 | Margaret | 26,546 | #119 | Actively reviving — the best-recovering name from 1924 |
| 6 | Ruth | 23,600 | #172 | Biblical; has held unusually well |
| 7 | Virginia | 18,620 | #510 | Southern associations; declining |
| 8 | Mildred | 15,853 | #2,105 | One of the most dormant names in the top 15 |
| 9 | Doris | 15,786 | #2,195 | Same — Greek sea-nymph origin didn't help |
| 10 | Frances | 15,183 | #379 | Quiet mid-chart presence; not yet reviving fast |
| 11 | Elizabeth | 14,950 | #17 | Top 20 in 2024 — the most durable girls' name across all decades |
| 12 | Evelyn | 13,358 | #8 | Top 10 in 2024 — one of the great vintage comeback stories |
| 13 | Anna | 13,076 | #94 | Near the top 100; solid |
| 14 | Marie | 11,575 | #639 | Slow decline; French feel keeps it alive |
| 15 | Alice | 11,537 | #62 | Top 100 in 2024 — actively reviving |
What stands out
Mary's scale. Mary had 73,534 babies in 1924 — roughly 1 in 12 girls born that year. This is the most extreme concentration of any single name in any year across the entire dataset. By comparison, Olivia at #1 in 2024 has about 18,000 babies. Mary's dominance in the 1910s and 1920s was a phenomenon without modern equivalent: a name so universal it felt less like a choice than a default.
Robert's moment. Robert's rise to #1 in 1924 was the end of a long battle with John that had played out across several decades. Robert would hold or share the top spot through the 1940s before Michael took over in the 1950s. In 2024 it's at #90 — still alive, still used, but past its era. The Roberts of 1924 are now centennials.
William and James: unchanged after 100 years. William was #3 in 1924 and is #10 in 2024. James was #4 in 1924 and is #5 in 2024. These two names have barely moved in a century. They dipped in the 1970s–1990s but came back; their biblical and royal roots are deep enough that no generation's tastes have fully displaced them.
Evelyn's comeback. Evelyn was #12 in 1924 with 13,358 babies. By the 1970s it was nearly forgotten. In 2024 it's at #8 — top 10, actively climbing. This is one of the great comeback arcs in the data: a name that reached an early-20th-century peak, disappeared for fifty years, and returned through the vintage revival of the 2010s and 2020s. Parents who chose Evelyn in 2024 may not have known they were picking a Jazz Age name — but they were.
Dorothy, Helen, and the still-waiting names. Dorothy (#431) and Helen (#424) are the next wave. Both were top 5 names in 1924; both are clearly recognizable and pronounceable; neither has fully revived. Dorothy has Wizard of Oz associations that are now charming rather than dated. Helen is ancient (Greek, Trojan War) and short enough to feel modern. The question is whether they follow Evelyn (full comeback) or Frances (slow simmer at mid-chart).
Mildred and Doris. These two sit at #2,105 and #2,195 respectively — names that were in the national top 15 in 1924 and are now nearly nonexistent. Mildred has a sound that feels categorically dated in a way that Dorothy doesn't; Doris is somewhat the same. Both are outliers in the 1924 top 15: names that didn't make the first wave of vintage revivals and may not make the second.
The 1924 girls' list is splitting cleanly in two. The names reviving: Alice (#62), Evelyn (#8), Margaret (#119), Ruth (#172), Elizabeth (#17), Anna (#94). The names dormant: Betty (#1,008), Mildred (#2,105), Doris (#2,195), Virginia (#510). The pattern is consistent: the names with ancient classical or biblical roots are reviving; the names that feel purely early-20th-century American are not.
See the full rankings for 1924 or explore names like Evelyn, Mary, Robert, and Alice in depth.
Data: U.S. Social Security Administration 1924 and 2024 releases. SSA records from the early 20th century are less complete than modern data — early registrations were not universal.